Evade

/ɪˈveɪd/

verbmediumCommonGeneral

Definitions

1

To escape or avoid something, especially by using cleverness or trickery.

/ɪˈveɪd/

verbneutralmedium
General

To escape or avoid something, often cleverly.

The thief evaded the police by hiding in the crowd.

💡 Simply: Imagine you're playing tag, and you're really good at running away and not getting caught. That's like evading! It means you're avoiding something or someone.

👶 For kids: To escape or avoid something, like running away from a game of tag!

More Examples

2

He tried to evade the question, but the interviewer pressed him for an answer.

3

The skillful quarterback evaded the oncoming defenders.

How It's Used

Legal

"He was accused of evading taxes."

Sports

"The running back skillfully evaded the defenders."

General

"She evaded the question with a clever answer."

Idioms & expressions

evade the issue

To avoid answering a question or dealing with a problem directly; to dodge a topic.

"Instead of addressing the problem, the politician evaded the issue by changing the subject."

From Latin *ēvādere* 'to escape, avoid', from *ē-* 'out' + *vādere* 'to go'.

The word 'evade' has been used since the 16th century, often relating to escaping legal or military obligations.

Memory tip

Imagine a slippery eel (E-vade) slithering away to avoid being caught.

evaidevaideivade

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written